27 July 2013 - Two Tasks in One

I spent the
night of 26 July creating two tasks in the Magellan navigation system; one south to
Orchard Peak, back to 41/33 then Avenal; the other north to Darcy, New
Coalinga, Hale, then back to Avenal.I
would decide which one to fly at the field.

I had always wanted to try the
Orchard – 41/33 route so I turned on the Magellan and prepared for the tow.I checked the weather, packed food and water,
took another look at the sky and I was ready to go.

All of this pre-planning was of
little help during the first flight when I put the 1-35 in some pretty dead air
off tow to the south of town and found myself back in line 24 minutes later!

Before the next launch I
observed good air to the north of the field and heard Morgan Hall in GD calling
altitude and climb rates.I still wanted
to go to the south.Off tow at about
3,000 feet I was able to climb at a good rate.I had programmed the Magellan to wake up with the Orchard Peak – 41/33 –
Avenal task loaded so I headed south.Morgan
had stated that he was headed that way and I could always turn north if there
was no lift.Half way to the first ridge
I realized that the unit was taking me in a different direction so I quickly
re-set the waypoint and kept heading to Orchard Peak.

The lift was strong when found
and the sink was predictable on either side.I was able to climb using dolphin and circling techniques.I kept in touch with GD, noting that he was
always 1,000 - 2,000 feet above me and much farther out!It was a beautiful day; it was easy to stay
high and make good time.

After rounding Orchard Peak and
41/33, I decided to attach the north task to the day and headed toward Black
Mountain, finding lift and seeing small clouds coming and going ahead.I was able cover some distance before
circling in a couple of thermals.Looking
to the north and west it was easy to see the clouds marking the convergence;
they went in that direction as far as I could see.

I kept running north-west until
I was near Center Mountain.At about
7,000 feet I found another thermal and took it to 10,200.I checked the Magellan and found the battery
had given its all; the screen was blank.Still, 10,200 is 10,200, so I ran straight to New Coalinga, turned right
and then straight to Avenal.

I arrived with altitude to spare
so I practiced flying with gear and flaps until it was time to do it for
real.The flight lasted about 2.5 hours.

In the end, I was able to enjoy
some outstanding soaring conditions and see both landmarks slide under the nose
in one flight.Lesson learned? –
practice more with the Magellan on the ground and get a better power source!